Facebook, Instagram, And WhatsApp users-- are back online after a major, worldwide outage on Monday that lasted about seven hours.
Some of us might have enjoyed the break, but in this "social media age", the outage did have big impacts.
These days, Facebook and other platforms are not only key ways of communication-- they're also important for doing business.
"When you can't post or you can't be social, with your followers, it's kind of tough."
For social media influencer, Rhett LeCompte better known as "DJ Rhett", his biggest audience is on Facebook.
In addition to his comedy, he's using his platform to help those recovering from Hurricane Ida get information.
"Not having that ability to talk to the fans is kind of nerve-wracking and I'm always checking what's going on and it's just weird,” LeCompte added.
That same uneasy feeling was felt by small businesses, like Jet Coffee, where they use Instagram and Facebook as a key way to communicate with their customers.
"Every morning or afternoon, throughout the day she checks it. So today she was fortunate to get all of our messages as much as she could, respond, and then it went down. I think people are kind of understanding knowing we can't respond, we can't get back to them but as soon as it comes back we'll be on it,” said Jet Coffee Owner, John Tommasini.
Apart from business, the shutdown made it difficult for some to just communicate with their families.
Like UL student Fayz Almudarra, whose family lives in Saudia Arabia.
"That's the only way that I can communicate with my brothers, my mom, so when it was down I couldn't communicate with them using WhatsApp of course or Instagram either,” said Almudarra.
It's unclear what caused the outage.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
